Shoulder pad construction



Dec. 19, 195o E, D. GERRY 2,534,513

SHOULDER PAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 12, 1948 if; i4

EVEEETT D. GERRY IN VEN TOR.

v BM* fable displacement thereof. `'not only makes the weareruncomfortable, Vbut straps from sliding.

Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNI PATENT F 2,534,513

"SHOUHIER,PADv CONSTRUCTION .Emett 1D. Gerry, Nework,N. rY..

Application 12, 1948, 'SeiaiNo. 43;945 'sl-femme. (ore-ees) 1 VThis'invention relates generally "to removable *shoulder pads, but morespecically'to aresll'ient "shoulder Apad having an openabie .grpfit'fric- "shoulder pad `provided with fasteningv'means on the under sidethereof "tovfrictionaliyengage the :shoulder strap of undergarmentswhereby `the pad fis maintained in xplace on the `:shoulder 'andIannoying slipping of the strap vaxiallyand Alaterrallyrelativeto thepadfisrminimized .Another object of the :invention resides in 1theprovision of a shoulder :pad provided n.with frictionally engagingsecuring :meansr'or an undergarment shoulder strap .on one lside fandvon .the

opposite side provided kwith "detachable Vengaging 'means for`cooperating engaging meansg on @the 'shoulder portion of garmentswherebya single pad iis capable Vol' use "for a possible entireawardrobe. i; l

Heretofore, shoulder ipads havingnmgeans for engaging the shoulderfstraps of undergarments rlacked the structure for engaging suchshoulder:straps i insa way which-would `prevent relative -fslid- -Suchdisplacement also lacks means 'of preventing.shoulder pads themselveslfrom Vshifting Aon the shoulders. r-lihis invention by reason ofstructure solves the 4prob- "lem of preventing the shoulder pad `fromshift- 'ing vand the'bra or otherundergarmeht shoulder rOther objectsofthe invention '.residedn the 'ef- 1 licien'cy, 'economy of manufacture,durability and sanitation of the 'shoulderpad 'the subject matter of theinvention herein.

'Tl-lese Aobjects :and vother incidental ends and advantages of the.invention -will hereinafter appear in the `progress of the disclosureand as pointed out in the appended claims.

Accompanying this specification are drawings showing a preferredformofthe :invention wherein: Y Figure 1 r.is a view in perspectiveshowingshoulder pads .associated with an undergarment 'having supportingshoulder straps and with the shoulder portions of an outer garment, .theview being partially eut-away and foreshortened.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure l across the plane 2-2 thereof..'ff; Figure 3 is a plan view of the underside of the `means `for'detachable :and 'frietionall l engagement between the shoulder pad landthe undergarment shoulder supporting strap. f

'In accordance vwith fthe "invention and the preferred form shown,.numeral lll .indicates .genorally raladies'undergarment such vas abrassire. Afpair of shoulder straps each findcated by nn- @mera'l il IAare 'securedto 'the .brassire or to `any other undergannentiin 'the`conventional manner, each of the straps being provided with suitable4adjusting Ameans such fas :adjustment :slides i3. .Any :conventional:outer garment iadapted yto over- Vle'the"undergarrnent is :indicatedbynumeral l2,

:one ofthe .shoulders thereof` also being indicated 'fbynum'eral |211.

The shoulder pad in accordance with the inyention therein comprises aycore M .having resilient and pliable characteristics such as spongeirubber, air'itreated plastic material and the like.

'Core |^4 iis provided with a form tting jacket or covering, preferablyof fabric, and is indicated by an upperwallfcovering, a lower 'wallcover- :ing` .I-.B vand a `base wa'll .covering 1.1. Along thecontinuous .side and Acurved 'rear edges `of `core .l 4 is a marginaliiap I8 4extending beyond the `side and rear edges -of the vcore, the`said flap having Arows =of stitches ,I9 A.securing the elements oftheycover member .in place overcore M. Flap .i8 Vas shown 4is 'pinked alongthe outer edge forthe usual reasons.

.shape i'having an arched base 20 tapering from the v:rnd-portionthereof Vto the ends, the upper and lower curved walls of -core i@ 'alsotapering ltoward the side 'and rear edges. The shape of zcore 1:4 is.such as to conform to lthe 'contour .of the shoulder along the lowerwall and along the upper wall is such as to create stylish lin-'es Aforthe shoulder of the `garment .being supported thereon. The fjacket-o1-covering assumes 'the shape `of fthe core.

In .order to engage the supporting strap -II adapted to engage theshoulder of the wearei'the lower Vjarcket'wall IG of lcore =I4 is`provided with a fpair .of spacedfan'd valignedopgenable gripping'loopsversely.

manner such as by adhesive means. The exposed or gripping side of strip2| is roughened as indicated by numeral 2|a, the material of said stripbeing either of exible bone, plastic, metal or composition, the materialchosen being controlled by both the gripping qualities of the exposedside 2|a and the required flexibility characteristics. Adapted tooverlie strip 2| is a second similar strip 22 having a similar roughenedopposing surface 22a, strip 22 being secured to strip2l 'at onetransverse edge in any suitable manner such as by means of transverseline of stitching 24 whereby a hinging effect is created between saidstrips.

The understrip 22 adjacent one transverse edge is provided with afastening element 25 which is adapted to engage a complementaryfastening element 26 adjacent the free transverse edge of the upperstrip 22. As shown in FigureS, fastening member 26 is adapted todetachably engage member 25 thereby forming gripping jaws between whichthe'strap l l is clamped when introduccd while the strip members are inopen position. The gripping jaws 2|a, and 22a, maintained in place bymeans of the wedging effect may be knurled or cut in intermeshing designwhereby a clamp-like effect is accomplished as best shown in Figure 2.The strap is thus :wedged firmly between the faces 2|a and 22a,

to minimize sliding action either axially or trans- It becomes obviousthat to effectuate such gripping action, the strips 2| and 22 must `havea `certain amount of hardness and also flexibility. The flexible natureof the strips 2| Evand` 22 is necessitated by the fact that strip 2|must assume the curvature of the underwall of the-` pad member, whilethe overlying strip 22 at the free end must be flexed `for insertion anremoval of the strap Il. Y

The upper walll of the shoulder pad as shown `is provided with a pair ofsnap fasteners 21 spaced along the longitudinal axis off the pad as bestshown in Figure 1. These fasteners 21 are adapted to engagecomplementary fasteners on `the inner wall of the shoulder portion |2aof the outer garment, each of the said complementary fasteners beingindicated by numeral 21a. Fasteners 2'! and 21a are of the detachabletype.

*Thus the pad may be applied to a whole ward- It'is under-` robe ofunder and outer garments. stood that the pad may be used with or withoutthe fasteners 21.

Although the core member I4 of the shoulder pad herein has beendescribed as being made of sponge rubber, air-treated plastic materialor fthe like, it is understood that the core may be made of any othermaterial to servethe purpose of shoulder` pads.

I wish it understood that minor changes and variations in the material,integration of parts, and location of elements may all be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the inventio-nand the scope of theappended claims.

' I claim:

l. A shoulder pad assembly engageable with a garment and withundergarment shoulder straps, comprising a pre-shaped, resilient andpliable core, a jacket to completely enclose said core, means to connectsaid jacket to the gar- `ment,A a pair of spaced and openable grippingloops secured to the lower wall of the jacket and 4- being adapted tonon-slidably engage a shoulder strap of the undergarment.

2. A shoulder pad assembly engageable with a. garment and adapted tofrictionally engage a shoulder strap of an undergarment, comprising apre-shaped, resilient and pliable core, a jacket to completely enclosesaid core, means to connect said jacket to the garment, a pair of spacedand openable gripping loops aixed in `alignment and along the lower wallof the jacket to non-slidably engage said shoulder strap.

A 3. A shoulder pad assembly engageable with a garment and adapted toengage the shoulder l strap of an undergarment, comprising a, preshapedcore, a jacket to completely enclose said core,`means to connect saidjacket to the garment, an openable gripping loop secured to the lowerwall of thejacket and being adapted to 7fastening means secured to theinner wall of the shoulder of the garment for removable engage- :mentwith the first mentioned fastening means.

5. A shoulder pad assembly for the shoulders of garments and forengagement with a shoulder strap of an undergarment, comprising apreshaped core, a jacket to completely enclose said core, resilient andopenable gripping members axed to the lower wall of the jacket and beingadapted to non-slidably engage the shoulder strap of the undergarment, apair of Vspaced fastening elements on the upper wall of the jacket, andapair of cooperating fastening elements secured to the shoulder of thegarment 'for 4removable engagement with the first mentioned fasteningelements.

6. Afshoulder pad assembly for the shoulders of garments and forengaging the shoulder strap of'an undergarment, comprising a pre-shapedresilient and pliable core, a jacket to completely `enclose said core,frictional engaging members selectively openable and closable andaflixed to tioned fastening means.

the lower wall of the jacket to non-slidably receive and maintaintheposition of the shoulder strap Yof the undergarment, fastening meansin spaced relationship on the upper wall of the jacket and cooperatingand spaced fastening means'secured to the shoulder of the garment forremovable engagement with the first men EvERE'I-r D. GERRY. REFERENCESCITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number A Name Date 1,374,971 Wiener Apr. 19, 19212,422,161 Zacks June 10, 1947 2,459,648 y Ingalls Jan. 18, 19492,465,120 Riley Mar. 22, 1949

